Jesus was so unique, set apart and uncommon that He didn’t blend in with the world as one of them. He wasn’t an “everyday dish,” He was the fine china and sterling silver – starkly different from the rest because He was of the Kingdom of God. He was so unique that they couldn’t quite understand Him but knew there was something peculiar about Him. He went only where the Father led Him to go, as some would say, “He hung out with sinners,” but He wasn’t influenced by them – He influenced them. He spoke in a way that could only be understood with the ears of the spirit, not comprehended by those consumed in the flesh and natural mind.
Now, where Jesus is referenced above, insert your name. To make a difference in this world and be able to stand boldly against deception, we must be firmly established in our identity in Christ. A strong backbone is only established when we’re in proper alignment, and that begins with God taking precedence over everything else in our life. He is number 1. He is Lord over and before self, family, friends, work, politics, ministry, money, sleep, food, social media, grief, addiction, depression and on and on. Anything that comes before Him is an idol and puts our life out of alignment – that’s a heavy thought, isn’t it?
When our heart beats with His, we’re in the ultimate manifestation of alignment. I encourage you to ask God if your heart is beating with His and prepare your heart to listen to what He has to say.
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
2 Timothy 2:20-21 – “ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
Mark 2:16-17 – “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
1 Corinthians 2:13-16 – “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
Learn more about author Karen Sperl by listening to the radio interview with Kate Delaney, or visiting her Spirit Superfood page on Facebook and TikTok.